Welcome to my 'foody' food bearing blog. Now that my blogging journey has begun, and the first shallot has been peeled, I hope to inspire kitchen creatives in a quest to find their 'foody grail'. All recipes are my own as are the images.

Category: thefoodygrail.com

Squash, sweet potato and roasted pepper soup served with savoury croissants. Finished with a warming chilli and garlic oil.

As the rustic shades of Autumn invade the last green remnants of summer, it’s time for a hearty and warming soup. Butternut squash, sweet potato and roasted red pepper make for a wonderful creamy soup. Served with a chilli- garlic oil and accompanied with savoury croissants flavoured with anchovies and sun dried tomato.

Soup:
Set oven to gas 6 or 200°C / 400°F
Place your chopped squash in a roasting tray – drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt, pepper and marjoram. (see image)
Now place your sweet potato wedges and onion wedges into a roasting tray – drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt, pepper and marjoram.
Roast your squash, sweet potato and onion for 45 mins’ until lightly charred and soft.
In a large pan melt the butter. Add the chopped celery, roasted pepper and garlic – sweat until celery is softened. (see image)
When celery is soft add the vinegar and reduce. Set aside.
Once the roasted veg’ are cooked add them to the softened celery and pepper. With the pan on a medium heat, further brown the veg’ by cooking for 10 mins’. (see image)
Add the stock and parsley to the veg’ and simmer for 20 mins.
Once simmered, blend all the veg’ to a creamy soup. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Savoury Croissants:
Rub the 23g of butter into the flour. Mix in the easy bake yeast and salt.
Add the warm milk and form into a dough.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for ten minutes.
Once kneaded, place in a floured bowl and cover with cling film or a damp cloth. Leave to proof until doubled in size.Note: The dough can be chilled in the refrigerator after first proof then rolled and formed the next day.
Once proofed, knock back the dough and knead for 10 mins’.
Combine the chopped anchovies with the chopped sun dried tomato – set aside.
Now for the rolling and layering of the dough.
Roll the dough into a 36cm x 21cm oblong. (see image)
Place half the 90g of butter and half of the anchovy and tomato onto the middle third of the pastry. (see image)
Fold the top third of pastry over the butter. (see image)
Place rest of butter and the rest of the anchovy and tomato mix onto the top third of the pastry. (see image)
Fold up the bottom third of the pastry. (see image)
Turn the pastry clockwise one turn. (see image)
Roll out the pastry to a 46cm x 14cm oblong. (see image)
Fold the top third of pastry over the middle third. (see image)
Fold the bottom third up over the top third. (see image)
Chill the pastry for 30 mins’ to firm up the butter.
Once chilled, turn the pastry clockwise one turn. (see image)
Roll out the pastry again to a 46cm x 14cm oblong. (see image)
Fold as previously explained and chill again for 30 mins’
For the final roll, turn the pastry one turn clockwise.
Roll out to a 56cm x 17cm oblong. (see image)
Once rolled, cut 8 – 10 triangles with a sharp knife. (see image)
Roll each triangle up from the widest end. (see image)
Place the rolled dough triangles on baking trays lined with parchment paper. Egg wash and leave to proof until doubled in size. (see image)Note: Make sure the points of the dough triangles are tucked underneath so that the croissants don’t unravel.
Set oven to gas 5 or 190°C / 375°F
Once proofed bake for 25 minutes until golden brown.
Cool on baking racks once baked.

Serving:
Serve your hot soup topped with chopped basil and a drizzle of chilli and garlic oil.Optional: Grate over the soup with Parmesan cheese.
Accompany the soup with warm savoury croissants.
Enjoy!

Blackberry Panna Cotta with an Apricot and Nut Baklava.Served with Whipped Cream, Sharon Fruit and a Blackberry Sauce.

British hedgerow meets Italian cream meets Ottoman delight.
Wild Blackberries are growing in abundance here in England at the moment. I don’t think I have ever seen so many fruits – it’s a bumper year – but a word of caution.
My first container was half full when an elderly lady appeared with three Great Danes…I will only pick fruits growing above chest height from now on.
After a few hours picking and culling the little black jewels, I put 500g of fruit to one side and froze the rest.
The recipe for today is a Wild Blackberry Panna Cotta with an apricot and nut Baklava. Served with whipped cream, Sharon fruit and a Blackberry sauce.
This dessert can be made in advance, chilled in the refrigerator and served when ready.

Blackberry Panna Cotta:
Add the blackberries, water and sugar to a pan and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, turn down the heat, add the agar agar, simmer for 4 minutes.
Next, blend the blackberry and agar agar mix then pass through a fine sieve. Set aside.
Bring the milk and double cream to just boiling. Thoroughly whisk in the blackberry and agar agar mix.
When combined, divide into five 150ml dariole moulds. Leave to set overnight.
When set, and ready to serve, loosen the at the edges then dip the moulds in hot water for 1 minute. Turn out your Panna cottas on to serving plates.

Blackberry Sauce:
Put all the ingredients into a pan.
Bring to a boil and simmer for 4 minutes.
Once simmered, pass through a sieve and set aside to cool.
Once cooled, chill in the refrigerator.

Apricot and Nut Baklava:
Set oven to gas 3 or 160°C/325°F
In your baking tray, place a single sheet of filo pastry and brush well with butter.
Do this with a further 4 sheets of filo – brushing each layer with plenty butter.
Now add a layer of ground nuts Approx’ 8 tabls’ and a layer of apricots. (see image)
Add a layer of filo and press down. (see image)
Now brush with butter and again add a further 4 layers of well buttered filo.
Add a further layer of nuts, followed by 5 more buttered layers of filo pastry.
Bake in the oven for 45 mins’ to 60 mins’ until golden brown.

Now make the Baklava syrup:
Place all ingredients into a pan, stir and bring to a boil. Boil for 3 minutes.
Once boiled, turn down the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Set aside.

Once the Baklava has baked, cut into squares. Leave to cool and then pour over the warm Baklava syrup.
Leave to soak for several hours – preferably overnight.
(see image – minus a few irresistible squares)

Serving:
Turn out your Panna Cottas on to serving plates.
Add two squares of Baklava.
Spoon on ripe Sharon fruit.
Top your Panna Cotta with whipped cream and Blackberry sauce.
Garnish with fresh blackberries.
Optional: top cream with ground and roasted mixed nuts.

“Oxtail and Prawns!!” I hear you exclaim. The same indignation, to my choice of ingredients, was forthcoming from two family members. Not one to take umbrage, I set out to offer them the ‘proof in the pudding’ as it were.
Later that day, the soothsayers of culinary fusion were not only eating ‘oxtail and prawns’ but their negative words also.

Oxtail:
Set oven to gas 7 or 220°C/425°F.
Place cuts of oxtail in a baking tray. Drizzle with oil and roast in the oven until well browned. Aprox’ 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
While the oxtails roast start to prepare the broth.
Melt the butter in a large pan.
Add the celery, onion and carrot to the butter and sweat until soft.
Next, add the tomato puree and cook out for several minutes.
Add the stock, water, herbs and garlic and bring to a simmer.
Once simmering remove from the heat.
When the oxtails have roasted, add them to the broth and simmer for 2-3 hours, or until the oxtail meat is tender.
When the oxtails are cooked turn off the heat and skim off any fat. Leave the broth and oxtails to cool in the pan. Once cooled remove the oxtails and set aside.
Season the broth with salt and pepper. Blend the broth with a hand blender and pass through a sieve. Set aside.

Mini Miso Buns: (Don’t add salt as the miso paste is salty.)
Firstly mix the flour with the coriander – set aside.
If using fresh yeast or active dried yeast, dissolve yeast with the warm water and the sugar.
After yeast has fermented, and frothed up, add to the flour and coriander. Form a dough and kneed for 5 minutes.
Place dough in a floured bowl. Cover the dough and leave to prove, in a warm place, until doubled in size.
Next, on a floured surface, roll out the dough to approx’ 13cm x 11cm. Spread with miso paste (see image)
Fold the dough over a 1/3 (see image)
Fold the dough over another 1/3 to create an oblong (see image)
Spread more miso paste over the top half. (see image)
Fold the bottom half of the dough up over the top half. (see image)
Roll out the pastry to approx’ 20cm x 30cm. (see image)
Roll up the pastry in to a sausage shape. (see image)
Once rolled, cut in to 10-12 slices. (see image)
Lightly dust each slice with flour and press down with the palm of your hand. (see image)
Place your dough portions on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with caraway or sesame seeds. Leave to prove and double in size. (See image)
Once proved, bake at gas 7 or 220°C/425°F for 20 minutes.
Once baked place on a cooling rack. (See image)

Once cooled, store the buns in an airtight container.

Prawn Quenelles:
Place prawns, egg white, wusabi and seasoning in a food processor.
Blitz to a smooth paste.
Add the cream and blitz until thoroughly combined.
Using two teaspoons, form quenelles with the prawn mix.
Steam the quenelles in a bamboo steamer over a pan of simmering water for 4 minutes. (see image)Note: If you don’t have a steamer, poach the quenelles
in simmering water.
When the quenelles are cooked, remove from the steamer, and set aside.

Pickled Radish:
In a dish, sprinkle the slices of radish with the salt.
Leave for 2 hours and drain off any liquid.
Rinse the radish in cold water and then dry.
Heat the vinegar and sugar in a pan. Once boiling pour over the radish.
Leave the radish for 1-2 hours to pickle. Set aside.

Glaze:
Set oven to gas 7 or 220°C/425°F
Place all the glaze ingredients in to a saute pan and bring to a simmer.
Add the previously cooked oxtails.
Spoon over the glaze and place in the oven to re-heat.
Cook the oxtails in the glaze for 35-40 mins. Baste at 10 minute intervals.
When the oxtails are heated, remove the pan from the oven, place on the hob, and continue to reduce the glaze for several minutes while basting the oxtails.
Set aside and keep warm.

Now that all the prep is done it’s time to put the dish together.

Re-heat the broth and the quenelles.
Place a ladle full of broth into each of your warm serving bowls.
Place a glazed oxtail into each bowl, followed by portions of quenelles and pickled radish.
Garnish with spring onion and drizzle with extra glaze.

Steak pudding is a British classic. It can be baked, as in this recipe, or steamed.
Fit for any high class ‘gastropub’ this meaty main, with a rich gravy, will not disappoint.
Served with a cauliflower and mustard purée, roasted fennel, sweet shallots, Girolle mushrooms and a side of chunky fries.

Steak Filling:
Set oven to Gas 4 or 180°C/350°F.
Coat your diced Steak in the seasoned flour – set aside.
In a sauté pan, soften and lightly brown the onion, button mushroom and celery in 1 tabls of oil. Once cooked, remove from pan and set aside.
Using the same pan add another tabls of olive oil and brown your seasoned steak.Note: If the pan becomes dry add another tablespoon of olive oil.
When the steak has browned add the Madeira wine and flame to burn off the alcohol.Tip:At arms length, tilt pan toward flame so that the Madeira catches light – be careful, as the flame will initially be vigorous before the alcohol burns off.
Now add the stock, herbs and seasoning. Stir and bring the contents of the pan to a simmer, pop on a lid and place in the oven for 2 hours to cook – or until the meat is tender.
When the meat is cooked, now in a rich gravy, remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Suet Pastry:
In a bowl mix the flour, suet and salt.
Now rub in the chilled butter until dispersed into the flour mix.
Add the water and combine in to a dough.
Now line the individual pudding/dariole moulds. I used 8cm x 5cm moulds.
Firstly, grease your moulds with butter.
Divide pastry in to four portions.
On a floured surface, roll out each portion of the dough to a 20cm circle. (see image)
Line each, greased, mould with a pastry circle. Press the pastry in to the bottom and around the sides of each mould. Remove any air pockets in the base. (see image)
Trim off excess pastry and set aside to make pastry lids. (see image)
Now roll out trimmed pastry portions to 15cm circles. Cut out pastry lids using a mould as a template. (see images)
Chill your lined moulds and pastry lids for 1 hour.

Filling the puddings:
Remove the pieces of cooled steak from the gravy. Break any large pieces of steak in to smaller pieces.
Place pieces of steak into the base of your lined moulds – fill only 1/3. Top with a few chopped gherkins. (see image)
Now add a dessert spoon of the gravy that the meat was cooked in.
Top with more meat and gherkins then finish with a dessert spoon of gravy. Keep the remaining gravy for serving later.
Wet the edges of the pastry around the top of the moulds and top with pastry lids – press the edges to create a seal. With a knife, make two incisions in each of the the lids. (see image)
Bake your puddings for 35-40 minutes at Gas 6 or 200°C/400°F.Tip: The puddings can be prepared a couple of days in advance and baked on the day.

With the puddings made, the rest, being the veg’ and garnish, is very easy indeed.

Cauliflower and Mustard Purée:
Set oven to gas 5 or 190°C/375°F.
Place your florets of cauliflower in a baking tray.
Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Cover with tin foil and roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes or until cauliflower is cooked.
Once cauliflower is cooked, blend in a food processor along with the mustard and lemon juice. Set aside.

Roasted Shallots:
Set oven to gas 5 or 190°C/375°F.
Place your peeled shallots in a roasting tray.
Drizzle with oil.
Season with salt and pepper.
Sprinkle with sugar.
Roast for 30-40 minutes until onions are soft and golden brown. Turn several times during roasting so that the shallots turn a golden brown all over.
Once cooked – set aside.

Roasted Fennel:
Set oven to gas 5 or 190°C/375°F.
Place slices of Fennel in a roasting tray. (see image)
Drizzle with oil, season and sprinkle with marjoram.
Roast for 35-45 minutes.
Once cooked – set aside.

Girolle Mushrooms: (Cook these just before serving)
Lightly fry the girolles in butter.
Season with salt and pepper.
Finish with a squeeze of lemon.

Fresh Fennel Herb and Fresh Thyme for garnish.

Tip: The cauliflower, fennel and shallots can be cooked at the same time as the steak, at Gas 4 or 180°C/350°F. They will take longer to cook, as the oven temperature is lower, but it can save on the overall cooking time.
The vegetables can also be prepared and cooked in advance and warmed up at the same time the steak puddings are baking.

To Serve:
Put your fries on to cook in a deep fryer.
Heat up the gravy left from cooking the steak.Tip: The gravy can be blended and sieved for a smooth texture – I prefer to leave it.
Spoon some of the hot gravy on to your serving plates.
Arrange your cooked steak puddings, cauliflower puree, veg’ and garnish.
Serve with a side of chunky fries and glass of red wine. Enjoy.

A light vanilla mousse, layered with a tangy lemon curd jelly and garnished with slices of, Zespri SunGold, kiwi and a passion fruit syrup. With an orange sorbet accompaniment, it makes for a beautiful and refreshing summer dessert.
Lets not ignore the shortbread base recipe. It’s a, melt in the mouth, buttery sensation with enough to make extra biscuits – you can’t have enough shortbread…gone already.

Shortbread: (oven gas 5 or 190°C / 375°F)
Cream together the softened butter, sugar, vanilla, lemon zest and salt.
Combine the sieved flour and cornflour.
Make a dough by adding the flour mix to the creamed butter mix.
Bring all the ingredients together, wrap in cling film, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Once the dough has chilled, roll out on a floured surface to 1cm in thickness.
Using your round or rectangle moulds – the same moulds you will use to set your mousse and curd – cut out your shortbread.
Use up all the shortbread mix by cutting further rectangles or rounds that can be served as a biscuit accompaniment.
Place your shortbread shapes on lined baking sheets, sprinkle with caster sugar, and bake for 10 minutes at gas 5 or 190°C / 375°F – middle shelf.Tip:After 5 minutes baking, turn your baking trays so that the shortbread at the front go to the back. Bake for the remaining 5 minutes. This gives your shortbread a more even bake.
When your shortbread has cooked, remove from the oven, and immediately, while still hot, re-cut the shortbread with your round or rectangle moulds. I have used both as an example. (See image)
Re-cutting the shortbread is important, as the shortbread expands during baking and you want the biscuit bases to fit inside of the moulds.
Once cooled, store shortbread in an airtight container. Eat the trimmed pieces.

Lemon Curd Jelly:
Except for the butter, place rest of ingredients into a thick bottomed pan and combine, thoroughly, with a hand whisk.
Note: If using leaf gelatin – soak in a dish of water first before adding.
Put the pan over a medium heat and, while stirring, slowly bring the contents to just boiling.
Remove from the heat and stir in the butter.
Sieve the curd and set aside to cool.
Once chilled, store in an airtight container and refrigerate to chill.

Orange Sorbet:
Create syrup by bringing the water and sugar to a boil in a thick bottomed pan.
Once syrup boils add the orange zest and silk gel and simmer for 5 minuets.
Once syrup has simmered leave to cool.
Add the fresh orange juice to the syrup and strain.
Chill the orange and syrup mixture in the refrigerator.
Once chilled, churn in an ice cream maker and store the resulting sorbet in a freezer.Note: If you don’t have an ice cream maker, place the sorbet mix in a suitable container and pop in the freezer. Stir the sorbet mixture every couple of hours until it creates a soft, but frozen ice.

Passion Fruit Syrup:
Bring the sugar and water to a boil.
Once boiling reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Leave to cool.
Add the seeds and juice from the passion fruit. Chill and set aside.

Vanilla Mouse:
Whip the double cream to soft peaks – set aside.
Mix the cream cheese, vanilla and 20g of caster sugar. set aside.
Place lime juice, water and agar agar in a pan and bring to a simmer. Once simmering take off heat and set aside. Note: If using leaf gelatin – soak in a dish of water first before adding to the warm lime juice.
Whisk egg whites, with a pinch of salt, until stiff peaks form. Then add the 40g of sugar to the stiff egg whites and whisk for 3 minutes.
With a hand whisk, combine the warm agar agar and lime juice to the cream cheese mixture.
Now add the whipped cream to the cream cheese mix and combine with hand whisk.
Now fold in the egg white mix until well combined.

Making the individual desserts:
On a baking sheet, place a shortbread biscuit in the base of your moulds.
Now pipe a layer of vanilla mousse in each mould – a third of the way up. (See image)
Follow the vanilla layer by piping a lemon curd layer.
Now pipe a final vanilla layer, on top of the curd layer, and smooth with a palette knife. (See image)
Chill your individual layered desserts for several hours to set – overnight if you can.

Serving/plating:

Once the desserts have set, carefully run a thin bladed knife around the edge of the moulds. With the mold still in place, slide a palette knife under the whole dessert and transfer to a plate. Carefully remove mould.
Garnish the top of each mouse with passion friut and mint sprigs.
Serve with slices of, Zespri SunGold, kiwi fruit, a scoop of orange sorbet and a drizzle of the passion fruit syrup.
I added a couple of fresh cherries, but any summer fruit will suffice.
Serve with extra shortbread biscuits.

Fruit Tart with Liquorice Ice Cream. Served with Chocolate Cream and Blackcurrant Jelly

A melt in the mouth sweet pastry filled with a tangy fruit compote and topped with a dark chocolate cream. But it doesn’t stop there; Jelly and ice cream will take you back to your childhood…Mmm liquorice and blackcurrant.

Garnish:
6 fresh strawberries
6 sprigs of mint.
Zest of 1 large orange.
Or use fresh fruits of your choice.

Method/cook:

Ice Cream:
Mix 2 dessert spoons of the sugar with the ice cream stabiliser. Set aside.
In a thick bottomed pan heat the milk, cream, milk powder, salt vanilla, liquorice powder and syrup to 82°C / 180°F. Note: Bring to a simmer if you don’t have a thermometer.
When the milk mixture has reached the required temperature, remove from the heat, and leave to cool for 3 mins’. Stir in the sugar and stabiliser mix.
With a whisk, cream together your egg yolks and remaining sugar in a heat proof bowl.
Now add your hot milk mixture to the egg yolks and sugar to create a custard – combine with a hand whisk.Note: Make sure that your milk mixture isn’t to hot as it will scramble the egg.
Pour the custard back into your thick bottomed pan, and on a low heat, stir until the custard thickens. When the mixture coats the back of a spoon remove from the heat.Note: If you have a thermometer. Heat and stir the custard to 60°C / 140°F and cook until the custard has thickened, about 5 mins’.
Strain the custard into a clean bowl and leave to cool.
Once cool refrigerate until chilled.
Once chilled, churn your custard in an ice cream maker.
Store your finished ice cream in a suitable container in the freezer.Note: You can make this ice cream without the stabiliser but it will freeze to a firmer texture.

Jelly:
Heat all the ingredients to just boiling.
Pour the hot fruit liquid into an oblong mould or dish, lined with cling film. Pop any bubbles that may form. Set aside to set. (See image)

Tart Pastry cases:
Rub the chilled butter into the flour and salt.
Combine the sugar and the beaten egg.
Make a dough by combining the the egg mix to the flour mix.
Wrap in cling film and chill until pastry is firm.Note: Initially this pastry mix is quite sticky. Have some extra flour ready to sprinkle over your hands when combining into a dough. Refrigerate the dough overnight, if you can, as it will help when it comes to rolling out.
When the dough has chilled divide into 6 equal portions and roll each piece into a circle – large enough to line 10cm tart cases.
Line six 10 cm tart cases with pastry. Bake blind for 10 minutes at gas 6 or 200°C/400°F
After 10 mins’ remove tart case from the oven. Remove parchment and baking beans and bake for a further 5 mins’ at gas 3 or 160°C/325°F.
Once baked remove from oven and leave to cool.Note: Baking blind – line uncooked pastry tarts with parchment and weight down with baking beans, dried peas or rice. This stops the bases of the tarts rising (See image)

Fruit Compote:
Except for the cornflour, in a pan, heat all the ingredients to a simmer.
Mix the cornflour with 2 tabls of water and add to the simmering fruit mixture.
When fruit mixture thickens remove from the heat and set aside to chill.Note: Don’t be tempted to add extra sugar to the compote. A slight tang or sourness is required to balance out the overall sweetness of the final dish.

Chocolate Cream:
Put all the ingredients into a pan and heat gently. As the chocolate melts whisk all the ingredients together until smooth.
Place in a clean receptacle to cool. Once cooled, place in refrigerator to firm to a piping consistency.

To serve:
Dust the edge of each tart case with icing sugar.
Half fill the tart cases with fruit compote. Top with a swirl of chocolate cream.
Turn out the jelly and cut into cubes. Arrange on the plate with slices of strawberry.Tip: Slices of strawberry will stick to the sides of the moist jelly cubes – it gives a little height and interest to the dish.
Pipe more chocolate swirls around the plate.
Place a scoop of ice cream topped with orange zest with your finished dish.
Enjoy.

Method/cook:
Start by making the pickle first. Veg’ has to be salted for 24 hours.
Add all your prepared vegetables to a bowl.
Generously sprinkle with coarse salt and mix.
Add the veg’ and salt mix to a colander and sit over a bowl – cover with a cloth.
Leave the covered veg’ for 24 hours in a cool place.
After 24 hours rinse the salted veg’ in cold water. Set aside.
Now prepare the pickle sauce.
Mix the spices, mustard and cornflour with 2 tabls of the vinegar. Make a paste.
In a pan, bring the remaining vinegar and sugar to a boil – then simmer.
Add the spice and cornflour mix to the simmering vinegar – whisk until thickened.
Taste the pickle sauce. If more sweetness is required add a little more sugar, a teaspoon at a time, until you are happy with the flavour. 80g of sugar is usually enough, but everyone’s taste buds are different.
When you are happy with the sauce, remove from heat, and stir in your rinsed veg’ Place your Sweet Pickle into a sterilised jar or airtight container. Leave to cool.

Chicken Terrine:
Peel carrot and cut into 3 lengths. Cut each length into thin strips. Blanch in boiling water for 3 minutes. Cool and set aside. (see image)
Blanch the Asparagus spears in boiling water for 3 minutes. Cool and Set aside.
Lightly fry the onion in the butter until soft.
Add the black pudding cubes to the onion and fry for 3 minutes. Set aside and cool.
Add your chicken meat to a food processor and blitz until smooth – about a minute.
Empty blitzed chicken meat into a mixing bowl.Tip: Place your mixing bowl over crushed ice to keep the meat cool.
To the chicken, mix in the beaten egg followed by the cream.
Now add the salt, pepper, herbs, cooked black pudding, pistachio nuts and the Madeira – thoroughly mix. Set aside.
Line your loaf tin with streaky bacon, leaving a 5cm overlap all the way around. The overlap can be folded over to seal the top of the terrine later.
Time to layer your Terrine.
Put a layer of the chicken mix in the base of the loaf tin.
Now layer all of your Asparagus onto the chicken layer – lightly press down.
Add another layer of chicken mix over the Asparagus – smooth with a spoon.
Add your slices of carrot to create a layer of carrot.
Add the rest of the chicken mix over the carrot layer and smooth with a spoon.
Fold over the overlaps of streaky bacon, so the final layer of chicken mix is covered. Place 3 bay leaves on top (see image) and seal the top with a layer of tin foil.
Cook your Terrine in a Bain Marie – see below. Gas 4 or 180°C/350°F for 1hr 30 mins with the foil on. Then cook a further 30 mins’ without the foil.
Once cooked, remove the Terrine from the oven and cover with a fresh piece of foil. Sit in a clean tray and place a weight on top. I use an oblong glass dish filled with water. Use a brick if you have one. Leave to cool and refrigerate over night.
To turn the Terrine out, run a thin bladed knife all around the edge of the Terrine. Turn the Terrine over onto a board or plate and turn out – give a tap or shake (See image)

Bain Marie method: Place your loaf tin, with prepared Terrine, in a roasting tray and top up with boiling water until water reaches half way up the loaf tin.Tip: Place your roasting tray, with loaf tin, in the oven then add the boiling water – much safer than lifting a tray with boiling water sloshing around.

Serving:
Serve a slice of the chilled Terrine with your Sweet Pickle.
Garnish with slices of roasted red/yellow pepper and sprigs of fresh dill.
Toasted and buttered bread of your choice.Tip: Pick some of the veg’ out of the pickle and blend the rest. It makes a great sauce.

Who doesn’t love a warm steamy pudding? Not sure about you, but there are no hands up in our house. I do like a thick English custard with my steamed pudding, but ice cream seems more befitting for the time of year.

Ice Cream:
Bring all the ingredients to a simmer – leave to cool.
Once cooled add the mixture to ice cream maker to churn.
After approx’ 50 minutes it will form a soft ice cream.
Transfer soft ice cream to a plastic container – with lid – and pop in the freezer for several hours.Note: Ice cream made with ice cream makers still need to be popped into a freezer – don’t expect the ice cream maker to give you a finished product. Once the ice cream reaches an almost frozen state the mixing paddle will stop turning, but not all the mixture is frozen. Add this extra freezing time to your timings. Ice cream makers with integrated compressor are best.

Stem Ginger:
In a pan, with a lid, simmer the sliced ginger in the 400ml of water until soft – 40-60 mins’. Be careful that the pan doesn’t boil dry.
While the ginger simmers make the stock syrup.
Put all the stock syrup ingredients into a pan. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes.
When the ginger is soft add the stock syrup and simmer until liquid is reduced by half and syrup thickens.
Store in sterilised jam jars.

Sponge:
Firstly prepare the pudding moulds.
Grease each mould with butter.
Pop a small amount of chopped stem ginger into the bottom of each mould.
Add a 2 heaped teaspoon of golden syrup to the bottom of each mould.
Slice 6 apricots and line each mould. (See image)

Once the moulds are lined, prepare the sponge mix.
Crack the eggs into a dish and beat with a fork until well mixed. Set aside.
Seive the flour and bicarb’ of soda together. Set aside.
Cream butter and sugar with an electric whisk – or use a wooden spoon if you feel that you need a work out.
Once the butter and sugar are well creamed add the beaten egg a little at a time.
Once all the egg has been incorporated fold in the sieved flour and bicarb’ of soda.
Divide sponge mixture between the 6 moulds. (see iamge)Note: Chilled eggs will cause the mixture to split, so use eggs that have been stored at room temperature. If the mixture splits before all the egg has been added, mix in a dessert spoon or two of the sieved flour – this should fix it.
Cover each pudding with parchment paper and then a piece of tin foil. Secure with elastic bands. (see images)
Note the fold in the parchment paper – this is to allow the sponges to rise during steaming.

Steam the sponges for 30-35 mins.
To steam the sponges, line the base of a large pan with baking beans or a wire trivet.
Just cover the beans or trivet with water and bring to a simmer.
Add the sealed puddings to the simmering water and top up with boiling water so the level reaches half way up the pudding moulds. (see image)
Put a lid on the pan and steam the puddings for 35-40 minutes on a low flame.
Once cooked, remove parchment paper and foil. Turn out onto plates and serve with the ice cream, fresh apricot slices and fresh cream.
Enjoy.

A moreish chocolate sponge cake with layers of summer fruits and fresh cream. Crème de Cassis and a chocolate cream, flavoured with star anise, add a touch of luxury.

I had to make something sweet to show off my latest charity shop purchases – two retro jugs, a 60’s glass plate and a nondescript little pot – all for a tenner. The items take me back to my childhood with so many memories.
My mother was always baking when I was younger, a lot younger, and this is the sort of moist chocolatey delight we as a family enjoyed. After a hard day, at a local farm, picking muddy King Edwards from a field that looked like the Somme it was a joy to sit down with a slice of cake and a hot chocolate. The money wasn’t great, but it came in handy to buy new pairs of wellingtons every week, as the thick, gloopy mud claimed so many.

Chocolate Genoise Sponge:
Grease and line a 20cm x 25cm baking tin with greaseproof paper.
Set oven to gas mark 6 or 400°f/200°c
Sieve the flour and cocoa powder together into a bowl – set aside.
In a small dish mix together the melted butter and vanilla – set aside.
Crack the eggs into a heat proof bowl, add the sugar, and whisk over a pan of simmering hot water, with a electric whisk, for 5 minutes.
When the egg and sugar mixture has thickened and increased in volume, to ribbon stage, remove from the heat.
Using a balloon whisk, gently fold half of your sieved flour and cocoa powder, and half of your melted butter mix into the egg mixture.
Fold the remaining flour, cocoa and melted butter into the egg mixture.
Pour sponge mix into prepared cake tin.
Bake at gas mark 6 or 400°f/200°c for 20-30 minutes on middle shelf.
Once baked leave to cool.

Chocolate Cream Coating:
Break 200g of the chocolate into small pieces and place into a pan along with the milk, cream, sugar and star anise. Bring to a simmer and gently stir the ingredients until all the chocolate has melted. Turn the heat to its lowest setting and leave for 5 minutes for the star anise to impart a subtle aniseed flavour.
After the 5 minutes, remove milk and chocolate mix from the heat. Strain to remove star anise and leave to cool for 30 minutes.
Melt the rest of the chocolate (200g) in a heat proof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Once melted add to the cooled milk mixture and whisk by hand to incorporate all the ingredients into a chocolate cream. It will thicken to a fudge texture as it cools further.

Fruit Filling and Sauce:
Place all ingredients, except cornflour and water mix, into a pan.
Place pan, with lid, on a low heat and bring to a simmer to dissolve the sugar.
Once the the ingredients are simmering stir in the cornflour and water mix.
As soon as the fruit mixture thickens, remove from the heat and place in a clean bowl to cool. Once cooled, refrigerate until chilled through.

Chocolate Flakes/scrolls:
Melt chocolate, in a heat proof bowl, over simmering hot water.
Once melted, pour chocolate onto work surface, marble slab – or, as I do, a piece of slate. See image:
Leave the chocolate to set at room temperature.Note: If the chocolate is too cold it won’t form scrolls/shavings so don’t be tempted to speed up the cooling by placing it in the refrigerator.
When the chocolate has set, scrape a knife along the surface of the chocolate to create the shavings. See Image:
Use the blade of the knife, horizontal against chocolate, and drag from top to bottom across the surface of the chocolate. Keep the top of the knife slightly tilted towards you. Don’t dig the blade into the chocolate, just add enough pressure to create the scrolls/shavings.
Keep scraping across the chocolate until you have enough flakes/scrolls to cover the cake – top and sides. Transfer the choc’ flakes/scrolls to a clean tray and place in the refrigerator to chill.

Building The Cake:
For the final cake I cut 4 oblong sponge slices- approx’ 12cm x 22cm and 2cm in thickness. See image:
Drizzle each slice of sponge with Crème de Cassis or blackcurrant juice. See Image:
Pipe, narrow, lines of cream onto three of the slices and spoon fruit filling between the lines of cream. See image:

Now stack the sponges to create the layers – lightly firm and remove any cream that may ooze out. See Image:

Cover the stacked sponge with the chocolate cream: See image:

Now cover your cake with your chilled chocolate flakes/scrolls.
Finally, pass the remaining fruit filling through a fine sieve to be served as a sauce.

Tip: If the sauce is to thick after chilling just add a little more Crème de Cassis or blackcurrant juice.

Marinating the pork:
Firstly, place all marinade ingredients into a bowl and mix together.
Cut the pork fillet in half and add to the marinade.
Leave the pork to marinate for two hours or over night.

Cooking the pork:
Once the pork fillet has marinated remove from the marinade. Keep the marinade to one side for the sauce.
Drizzle the pork with olive oil, or veg’ oil, and seal in a hot frying pan.
Place the sealed pork in a preheated oven for 20 minutes – gas 7 or 220°C/425°F
When cooked, remove from oven and leave to rest for 10 minutes.

Cooking Garnish:
On a griddle pan lightly brown the spring onions in a little olive oil. Set aside and keep warm
Lightly fry the mushrooms in a little olive oil. Set aside and keep warm.
Fry the scallops and roe in olive oil for two minutes on each side. Set aside and keep warm.
Cover your rice noodles with boiling water and leave for 10-12 minutes until softened. Drain, rinse in cold water and set aside.

Cooking Stir-fry:
In a wok heat up the oil.
Add cauliflower, spring onion and chilli and fry for 1 minute.
Add half a cup of water and continue to cook for a further minute.
Add the sugar-snap peas and cook for 1 minute.
Add the Chinese lettuce and soy sauce and cook for 1 minute.
Serve.

Serving:
Put your saved marinade into a frying pan and heat on a medium heat until reduced by half. This will create a sweet and spicy sauce.
Re-heat your noodles and serve with slices of your cooked pork, your cooked garnish and stir-fry vegetables.
Enjoy.